Sea Bass Provençal

Name: Sea Bass Provençal
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 sea bass fillets (about 200 g each); 400 g cherry tomatoes; 12 black Niçoise olives; 2 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp capers; 1 sprig rosemary; fresh thyme; olive oil, dry white wine; salt, pepper, basil

Loup de mer à la provençale weds the Mediterranean sea bass to the vocabulary of Provence — cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers, garlic, herbs from the garrigue. One pan, one oven, one scent: summer on the coast. The dish is cooked the same way in Marseille, Nice and Bandol, only the white wine from the cook's cellar and what the morning market gave them change between kitchens.

Total time45m

Active time35m

Servings6

DifficultyMedium

Cost$

Add to my meal plan

🌿

Rich in vitamins

Fresh and healthy

⭐

Traditional recipe

Authentic taste

Ingredients 6 servings

2 sea bass fillets (about 200 g each)
400 g cherry tomatoes
12 black Niçoise olives
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp capers
1 sprig rosemary
Fresh thyme
Olive oil, dry white wine
Salt, pepper, basil

How to make it

1Start with the fish: if using skin-on fillets, take them out of the fridge thirty minutes ahead to temper, and pat each piece bone-dry with kitchen paper — cold, wet fish cooks unevenly and won't brown.
2Salt lightly on both sides and set aside.
3Heat the oven to 200°C.
4In a wide oiled dish, lay halved cherry tomatoes cut-side up, whole Niçoise olives, rinsed capers, a few thinly sliced garlic cloves, thyme sprigs and a single sprig of rosemary.
5Drizzle generously with more olive oil, pour in a glass of dry white wine, season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
6Slide into the oven for ten minutes — the tomatoes need to burst and release their juices, the wine reduces by half, and the garlic loses its sharpness; this is how the aromatic bed for the fish is built.
7Pull the dish out, lay the fillets skin-up among the tomatoes and spoon some of the pan juices over them.
8Return for eight to ten minutes, until the flesh turns opaque and flakes at the tip of a fork, and the skin takes on a few golden patches.
9Check the centre with a knife tip: if it slides in without resistance, it is done.
10Rest two minutes, scatter torn basil leaves on top, and bring the dish to the table with crusty bread to mop the Provençal sauce — without it, half the meal stays in the pan.